Maths 

At The Ashbeach Primary School, we are dedicated to nurturing our pupils’ love of learning and supporting them in developing the essential skills they need to thrive.  Our vision, “Learning for life – to be the best we can possibly be”, is at the heart of everything we do, guiding our approach to Maths education. 

Counting and Times Tables 

Children need to know the number names and we achieve this through counting forwards and backwards, starting at different numbers as the children develop in confidence.  Younger children use rhyme time to learn initial sequences of numbers.  Children also engage in physical counting objects, labelling each object with a number word.  Children then progress to knowing the last number counted gives the total number of items and gives the cardinal value.  As children develop confidence, they are then able to subitise, which is recognising how many items there are without counting.  Children also need to be able to match a number symbol with a number of items.  As children develop these ideas, they can see that if a group is rearranged but nothing is added or taken away that the amount stays the same.  All these skills are start in EYFS and continue through key stage 1 and into key stage 2.  Classes spend time counting each week at a level appropriate to their stage and this includes counting in sequences as part of learning their times tables. 

See the NCETM EYFS cardinality and counting progression document. 

We recognise that knowing times tables facts is essential to be successful in maths.  Through counting progression, children are learning to count in sequence at a young age, learning the pattern of number for a particular sequence.  We then teach children times tables in a progressive sequence. 

See our counting progression document. 

We follow the national curriculum’s progression for learning tables but also teach this on a reduced facts basis.  We start by learning the tables in the following order; 1, 10, 5, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12.   Once we learn the 1 times table, 10 times table and 5 times table, we know these facts on all the other tables using the rule of commutativity.  We also learn that we know near facts by subtracting or adding one lot on from a known fact.  As we progress through the times tables, we know more known facts using the rule of commutativity.  By the time we get to learning the 12 tables, we only need to learn 1 fact. 

We subscribe to Times Tables Rock Stars which gives children access to times table practice as well as access to Numberbots which complements our work in counting and times tables. 

See our times table document. 

Mastering Number 

We have received training from the Cambridge Maths Hub (as part of the NCETM) on mastering number.  This programme is used from years 1-5, with different programmes being used for different classes.  The aim of the programme used in key stage 1 is to develop fluency in calculation and confidence and flexibility with number.  In key stage 2, the focus is on multiplication and division.  The aim is to develop automaticity in multiplication and division facts through regular practice.  Both programmes complement our counting and times tables vision. 

We deliver these sessions in a dedicated session outside of the maths lesson.    

Arithmetic Practice (Year 6 only) 

Whilst the rest of the school complete their mastering number session, year 6 spend time developing their arithmetic skills so that they are able to tackle calculations confidently and efficiently.  The children use a range of resources for this, including the Fluent in Five materials developed by Third Space Learning.  Children are given the opportunity to practice and share different methods to find what works for them, whilst at the same time promoting efficiency in calculation. 

Flashbacks 

Every maths lesson starts or ends with an opportunity for pupils to retrieve, revisit and consolidate prior learning - this is called the Flashback. This selection of questions, compiled by White Rose Maths, are based on: 

• What children learnt yesterday; 

• What children learnt last week; 

• What children learnt two to three weeks ago; 

• What children learnt last term or last year. 

The flashback ensures that children are continually revising and consolidating other areas of the curriculum that are not just the unit being studied. 

Maths Lessons 

We follow the mastery curriculum for mathematics.  We believe that all children can succeed at maths and that levels of success will vary depending on the unit being studied. The mastery approach allows all children to start on a level playing field for every lesson.  Adaptations can be made to the learning to cater for the emerging needs that become apparent in the lesson.  The mastery approach also recognises that some mathematicians will excel in some areas but need support in others and vice versa. 

Within a lesson, we would expect to see three levels of adaptation for each year group.  Most of the children will be working at mastery, these will be on tasks that are deemed age related for that unit.  For those children who are identified in the lesson as needing additional support, they will complete work which offers the same learning opportunities but is scaffolded in some way (usually through adult support or resource support).   For those children who show a secure grasp of the learning, there will be a flying challenge.  The flying challenge will deepen their learning whilst remaining within the same concept.  As mastery assumes that children will deepen their understanding within their year group’s learning rather than push into the next year group’s learning, the learner will need to have completed a significant amount of the mastery material for the teacher to be confident they have a secure grasp, as this should be brand-new material. 

We follow the White Rose scheme of work.  The White Rose scheme maps out the different units for each year group and anticipated time scales.  We accept that class teachers might need to adapt the order of the units around.  We also subscribe to the White Rose premium materials.  This provides a breakdown of each small step within the unit, with teacher slides provided along with questions with a mixture of fluency, reasoning and problem-solving questions. Both the slides and questions give an indication of the pitch and expectation required.  The teaching slides also provide a fantastic resource in terms of pictorial representations to help with conceptual understanding.  The teacher will ensure that, wherever possible, that children are exposed to fluency, reasoning and problem-solving questions.  At Ashbeach, we also use the NCETM materials to assist with tasks that are age-related and those that are at greater depth.  The greater depth tasks are often used as our flying challenges.  

Maths is taught in mixed-aged classes and in single unit group teaching in some cases.  The White Rose scheme is used in both instances. 

Supporting children with SEND 

Children who have special educational needs will be supported in lessons in a variety of ways depending on their needs.  In all maths lessons, teachers plan activities to ensure that children can access the learning.  Through adaption, differentiation, resources and adult support, all children are able to achieve at their own level.  Sometimes children need additional sessions in maths which are designed to target specific gaps that they may have.  These will happen outside of the maths lesson.